LA officials take action after 'teacher fed blindfolded students semen-laced cookies'… by banning blindfolds in schools

After an elementary school teacher allegedly blindfolded his students and fed them cookies smeared in semen, school district officials have taken action to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

In a bizarre move, the Los Angeles Unified School District in California has barred lessons involving blindfolds and classroom-made butter after the alleged incidents at Miramonte Elementary School.

Officials allegedly seized some 600 images of teacher Mark Berndt feeding blindfolded children, aged six to 10. He has been charged with committing lewd acts on 23 children in a five-year period.

Lessons learned: Los Angeles school district has banned blindfolds in schools after former teacher Mark Berndt, right, allegedly blindfolded students and fed them semen-covered cookies

According to the Los Angeles Times, the district sent a memo to principals on February 23 saying blindfolding might be negatively perceived because of the case.

Fourth-grade teachers regularly blindfold students as part of a reading program designed to teach students how to use their senses, the paper reported.

A student's eyes are covered and they are handed an object, and, without naming the object, they must describe it using their senses. They are never required to taste it.

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In a memo, Deputy Superintendent of
Instruction Jaime Aquino suggested students could continue the activity, but place objects in an opaque bag instead.

Butter-making is another popular activity but has been banned at
one school because students ate the finished product on crackers.

A
parent complained about the lesson at a North Hollywood school, causing
the principal to cancel it.

Accused: Berndt, who has pleaded not guilty, poses with students at Miramonte Elementary. Police allegedly seized some 600 images of the 61-year-old feeding semen to blindfolded children, aged six to 10

Scandal: Students are escorted out of Miramonte Elementary school after
the revelations about the fourth grade teacher. Attorneys claim the
school did not pay attention to the warning signs

Some have questioned whether the district overreacting following the actions of a single teacher.

'Half of me is laughing; half of me is crying,' said Larry Sand, president of California Teacher Empowerment Network. 'Is this the way the district thinks they're going to change things?'

'The issue to me is how the good teachers are besmirched by the actions of a few'

Teacher Prentiss Moore

Substitute teacher Prentiss Moore, who has instructed the butter class, told the LA Times: 'The issue to me is how the good teachers are besmirched by the actions of a few.'

Retired Assistant Supt. Angie Stockwell told the LA Times she believes principals need to be vigilant. "If I were a teacher today, I would be more cautious,' she said.

'What would be normal in one time becomes suspect in another. When blindfolding, things can happen.'

The
memo comes after attorney Luis Carrillo filed 33 legal claims against
the district, claiming that staff ignored warnings that Berndt was
engaging in improper conduct with children.

Call for change: Parents protest outside the school to demand greater communication with education officials. Some teachers believe the blindfold ban is punishing many for the crimes of one

Furore: After the scandal was widely reported, the school was closed and re-opened with an entirely new staff

Carrillo told reporters at a news conference that he filed 20 claims on behalf of children who were allegedly victimised by 61-year-old Berndt.

Another 13 claims were filed on behalf of parents who say they were traumatized when they found out the teacher had been arrested. Berndt has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Carrillo, who is one of about five lawyers representing Miramonte families, said several complaints about Berndt were made as far back as 1990 and 1991, but action was never taken.

'The school district was asleep through all these alarm bells,' he said, the AP reported. 'These are tremendous warning signs.'